Anthropic Expands AI Reach with Cowork, a File Management Agent for Everyday Users
In a strategic move to broaden its user base beyond software developers, AI startup Anthropic has unveiled Cowork, a file management artificial intelligence agent specifically designed for non-programmers. This development comes after the company observed that users were repurposing its developer-focused Claude Code tool for general tasks outside of coding.
Rapid Development Using Claude Code Itself
According to Boris Cherny, head of Claude Code at Anthropic, the company constructed this new product in approximately one and a half weeks, primarily utilizing Claude Code for the development process. Cherny explained in an interview with Fortune that the creation of Cowork represented a natural progression, stating, "It was just kind of obvious that Cowork is the next step. We just want to make it much easier for non-programmers."
How Cowork Differs from Previous Anthropic AI Tools
Cowork distinguishes itself from Anthropic's earlier general-use AI offerings through its capacity for autonomous action rather than merely providing suggestions. This innovative tool can:
- Access and manage files directly
- Control web browsers via the "Claude in Chrome" extension
- Manipulate applications by executing tasks instead of just advising on procedures
For many general users, Cowork offers their first encounter with agentic AI capabilities. While many applications might seem mundane, they reportedly save users significant time. Cherny shared his personal use case: employing Cowork for project management, where it automatically messages team members on Slack when they haven't updated shared spreadsheets.
Other reported applications include a researcher using Cowork to sift through museum archives for basketry collections. Cherny elaborated on the tool's impact: "Engineers just feel unshackled, that they don't have to work on all the tedious stuff anymore. We're starting to hear this for Cowork also, where people are saying all this tedious stuff—shuffling data between spreadsheets, integrating Slack and Salesforce, organizing your emails—it just does it so you can focus on the work you actually want to do."
The Unexpected Success of Claude Code
Anthropic originally launched Claude Code in February 2024 as a developer assistant tool. Surprisingly, it attracted substantial attention beyond its intended audience of software engineers. The coding tool received remarkable endorsements, including praise from Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, who described it as "incredible" and encouraged companies to experiment with it.
Remarkably, a senior Google engineer reported that Claude Code could replicate a year's worth of work in just one hour. The tool found unexpected adoption among non-programmers who used it for diverse tasks such as purchasing theater tickets, managing tax payments, and monitoring tomato plants. Major corporations including Uber, Netflix, Spotify, Salesforce, Accenture, and Snowflake have integrated Claude Code into their operations.
Cherny noted that the product has discovered "a very intense product market fit across the different enterprise spaces." Following Claude Code's viral success, Anthropic experienced a significant traffic surge: Claude's total web audience more than doubled since December 2024, with global daily desktop visitors increasing by 12% year-to-date, according to data from Similarweb and Sensor Tower reported by The Wall Street Journal.
Security Considerations and Enterprise Focus
Despite their capabilities, both Claude Code and Cowork face potential security threats, particularly "prompt injections" where malicious actors embed harmful code into web pages to manipulate AI responses. Anthropic has implemented multiple security layers for Cowork, including operating it within a virtual machine with enhanced delete protection to prevent accidental file deletions—a feature Cherny describes as "quite innovative."
Anthropic acknowledged in its announcement that "Agent safety—that is, the task of securing Claude's real-world actions—is still an active area of development in the industry."
Despite creating consumer-friendly tools, Anthropic is strategically positioning both Claude Code and Cowork for the enterprise market, where the company reportedly leads OpenAI in adoption rates. Cherny emphasized this focus: "For Anthropic, we're an enterprise AI company. We build consumer products, but for us, really, the focus is enterprise."
This approach aligns with Anthropic's foundational commitment to AI safety, appealing to corporate clients who prioritize security and compliance. The company initially developed robust coding capabilities to enable tool utilization, testing products with technical customers before expanding to general-use applications like Cowork.
